GC-R-CF-MS method to determine the 13C abundance of gaseous combustion products in cigarette smoke

To determine the 13C abundance of combustion and break down products formed in cigarette smoke, especially CO and CO2, a simple and fast analytical method is needed. Taking into account the knowledge about the determination of the natural 13C abundance in air, an online method - based on gas chromatography-reaction-continuous flow mass spectrometry (GC-R-CF-MS) - has been developed, which enables the determination of the 13C abundance of CO and CO2 in the vapour phase of cigarette smoke with a relative standard deviation of< or =0.5% in one analytical run. Additionally, in a second step, the 13C abundance of total volatile carbon can be determined.